


Disruptions

by Oryx_Gazella



Category: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (Short Film)
Genre: DHMIS, F/M, Padlock, im a disgrace, its cuter, oh my god theres no murder in this one, oh my god what happened to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 17:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1355020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oryx_Gazella/pseuds/Oryx_Gazella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony tries to get work done.  Paige is bored.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Disruptions

**Author's Note:**

> im so sorry i dont know what happened this ones cute break my legs and throw me in a lake  
> ft. tony the talking stubbon idiot and paige the actual five year old

 

It had been nine days since either of them had last died, and Tony was fully aware of her boredom.  For two days now, Paige had been pacing around the house, briefly distracting herself with activities before quickly moving on to something else.  Nothing could hold her attention for long, not even terrorizing their roommates; she wanted to fight, but it was his turn to initiate it. 

Any other time he’d happily oblige her and slit her throat as soon as possible, but right now…

Right now he had work to do.  Sure, he _could_ take a trip downstairs to slaughter her and stuff her body somewhere, effectively removing her from the house for hours; the problem was, hours might not be enough for this project. 

He had come upon a woefully neglected Ansonia Capital Model clock in desperate need of a restoration.  The ignorant fool in the antique store didn’t even know what they had their hands on, so it had been _insultingly_ cheap.  With his expert restoration, its value could easily triple… _if_ he decided to sell it.

The movement component was currently in the early stages of disassembly on his workdesk, the tiny screws lining up in neat rows as he delicately took it apart.  It needed to be cleaned, rebushed, and oiled.  He was well aware that some of the components were completely ruined, and he hadn’t even _gotten into_ tracking down the needed replacement parts yet.  The clock’s dial had to be re-papered, the case needed a cleaning and serious touch-ups, _and_ the right side glass panel was cracked. 

            So Paige, despite her clear, frustrated boredom, was at the back of his mind right now.  

            Regardless of his distraction, he was still acutely aware of the time passing.  By 11:33, all three of their _friends_ had gone to bed, and Tony continued working on cleaning the movement and identifying the things that couldn’t be saved.  Paige, too, was still awake, especially exasperated now that it was too dark to garden and there was no natural light for painting.  He wasn’t sure of what she was doing right now, but it didn’t much concern him. 

            When her footsteps ascended the stairs at 11:46, he assumed she was simply going to bed early.  When the noise stopped right outside his door, however, he tensed.  Was she going to attack him now?  Out of turn?  He didn’t put it past her, but surely she’d understand it’d result in retaliation; retaliation while she was similarly engrossed in one of _her_ hobbies. 

            He carefully set his tools down, turning his attention to the sounds just outside his door.  He waited, counting the seconds out of habit. 

            After eight of them, the door swung open, and Paige strolled into his room.  He didn’t turn his head to look at her, feigning concentration on his work. 

            “Is there a reason why you’re interrupting me, Paige?”  He asked.

            “No, not really.  Just wanted to see if whatever was keeping you cooped up in your room for so long was as _incredibly dull_ as I thought.” 

            Soft footsteps and the gentle rustling of fabric approached him.  Tony still refused give her the satisfaction of turning around to pay attention to her, even if it meant he was about to be strangled.  He trusted her _just enough_ to assume she wouldn’t purposely destroy the clockwork on his desk if she did start a fight.

            Something landed on his shoulder, and he refused to react.  Paige was leaning her head on him, peering down at his desk.  She didn’t _seem_ to have anything lethal with her…

            “Mm, yeah.  Looks like it is.”  Paige sighed.  “Not sure what else I expected from you to be honest.”

            “Was that all, then?  I’d like to get back to work.”

            “Well don’t let me stop you.”  Paige got off his shoulder; instead of leaving, he heard a chair scrape across the floor, coming to a stop just behind him.

            He finally looked around to her; sitting on it backwards, head resting on the back of the chair.  He glared.  She smiled.

            Tony turned back to the desktop and exhaled slowly, refusing to give in and attack like she so wanted.  Fine.  He could work even with Paige’s presence, he just needed to block her out.  Normally, keeping his back to her like this would prove fatal, but Paige had ample chances to kill him since she walked in; if she hadn’t tried already, it probably wasn’t going to happen.

            No sooner had he picked up one of the myriad of clock parts arranged on his desk, than he heard the chair behind him scoot closer with an ugly grating sound; probably marking up the floor.  Her curly, distracting hair intruded on the corner of his vision. 

This was a test.

            “What’s that?”  Her hand came into view, pointing at the center wheel. 

“The center wheel.” He answered, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. 

“What does it do?”

“Carries the minute hand.”

            “How _fascinating_.” The cheery sarcasm was obvious. “And what’s that?”  She pointed to the mainspring. 

            Tony kept quiet, getting back to evaluating each part for damage. 

            “Ohhh no, are you ignoring me?  But this is so _fun_ and _interesting_ , I just _have_ to know all about it.” 

            Her pouting was almost tangible when he didn’t respond. 

            She was quiet for three minutes, twenty three seconds while he worked.  On the twenty-fourth second Tony felt something blunt and circular press into the side of his cheek.

            He jerked away from it, and whipped his head toward her to see her bored expression and the end of a paintbrush held loosely in her hand.

            “Sorry, is that distracting?”

             “I’m not going to fight you Paige.” He snapped “I _intended_ to kill you after I got finished with this, but now I think I’ll keep you waiting even longer than that.“

            The hint of a frown pulled at the corners of her mouth. 

            “And who said I wanted to fight you?  I’m just here to keep you company while you’re working.  I’ve got nothing else to do, after all.” 

            She wasn’t going to leave.

            “Paige, dear.”  He said quietly, flatly.

            “Hmm?”  The sound was hopeful as she leaned in.

            She didn’t have time to jerk away before Tony’s hand clamped over her mouth, holding her still. 

            Speeding up time on her didn’t have the same effect it did on other things.  They weren’t made of the same easily decaying substances as the world around them, it seemed.  Still, his talents did have _some_ effect.

            Paige’s hands flew up to tear at his, nails prying under his glove.  An indignant, muffled yell resonated in her throat as she tried to pull her head away.  He held tight, not letting her move an inch. 

In five seconds, he had won; those clawing hands weakened and slid away to hang at her sides.  She blinked slowly, eyelids heavy.  A soft, hazy whimpering sound buzzed against his palm.  Paige’s body slumped in the chair, and soon his grip on her face was the only thing holding her upright.

Soon after they had met, it was discovered that accelerating time on her accomplished little more than making her extremely tired.  Typically he disliked using the tactic it when they fought, but right now, it was necessary.

When she was sufficiently subdued, he released her.  The chair clattered to the floor when Paige fell sideways off of it, already out.

Tony briefly watched her, ensuring she was, indeed, asleep, and turned back to the desk.  He stared down at the gears and springs and pins, Paige’s light snoring the only noise in the room apart from the ever-present ticking of clocks. 

With a heavy, exasperated sigh, Tony stood up.  Paige was too close to his chair, and it nudged into her side. 

“You’re not only annoying, but you’re in the way.”  He muttered, kneeling down and sliding his arms under her.

Tony lifted Paige’s limp body up, eliciting an unconscious murmur.  He carried her over to his bed, softly placing her down on it.  She turned over, curling up and lying still.

He stood by the bed, wondering just why he had moved her here.  He also thought about running his sword through her and watching her bleed out.  Would she even wake up, or was she too out of it?

            His head shook slightly, deciding against it.  He’d have other chances to experiment with that.  Tony went back to his desk, finally able to work.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

            Paige’s awareness came back, slowly.  When she opened her eyes, the room was mostly dark, aside from a harsh, downward-angled light by the far wall; Tony showing up in a blurry silhouette, his back to her.  She knew what had happened, though she hadn’t expected to wake up in his bed. 

            “Bastard…” her voice was sleepy, and would’ve been inaudible if the house hadn’t been so quiet.

            He gave her a short hum of acknowledgement. 

            It was too dark, and her eyes were too unfocused to read any of the annoying clocks in the room.  Paige sat up, looking towards him and squinting at the light shining from above his desk. 

            “Nnn, what time is it?”

            “3:34”

            “Aren’t you tired?  You’ve been working on that thing for over a day now.”

            “I’ve been working on it for 18 hours.  And no, I’m not.  Anyway, my bed seems to be _occupied_ at the moment.”  He still wasn’t looking at her.

            Paige scoffed.  “Like that’s stopped you before.” 

            She grinned when she saw him react to that.  His jaw tensed as he searched for a response. 

            Alright, she’d save him.  “If you’d like me to move, I will.”  She wouldn’t.

            “No you…you’re fine.” 

            “Are you gonna sleep, then?”

            “…Soon, yes.”

            That meant ‘when he thought she was asleep again’.  Paige readjusted the blankets over herself and cuddled back to the bed, rolling over to give him space. 

           

 

* * *

 

            Not long after (he’d certainly know if she asked) Tony woke her up when he climbed into bed next to her.  She considered reacting just to torture him a bit more, but decided to spare him. 

            “I’m going to kill you tomorrow, sweetheart.” He murmured into her hair.

            “You’re going to _try_ to kill me tomorrow, dear.” She replied, nuzzling her face into the pillow and going back to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> SHRUGS  
> THE NEXT ONE WILL BE DOUBLE VIOLENT OK


End file.
